Where the Wildflowers Grow
The Appalachian Mountains are beautiful year round – whether it is the bright fall colors, the frost-laced trees in the winter, the stormy grays of spring, or the bright colorful pastels of summer. While I find the mountains beautiful all the time, one of my favorite things about a Northeastern Tennessee summer is the abundance of wildflowers. The Appalachian region is home to well over 1500 different types of flowers, from those that live in streams to hardy varieties that grow in the cracks and crevices on the rocky mounts.
There are flowers growing all over the Ranch, starting with the flowering trees in the spring, right through until the first frost in the fall. The colors are so vibrant, bright yellows, pure whites, pink clovers, lavenders, cornflower blues, all on a background of green. The size varies from tiny little blooms to daisies, from intricate blooms like lilies to simple four-petal blooms; all radiate God’s beauty and bring joy to our world. Luke 12:27 says, “Consider how the wildflowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”
With all our technology, we still can’t produce something as profoundly beautiful as our native wildflowers. God’s creation is beautifully and wonderfully made! There is beauty in the simple and the complex. There is wonder in every flower.
There is wonder and beauty in every person too. Sometimes it is hard to remember that God made each and every one of us to be special, to be loved. Just as it is hard to imagine the beauty of summer wildflowers in the middle of a dark, frozen winter, the beauty is there, just below the surface, waiting for the right conditions, the right moment to sprout and grow and then bloom with spectacular color.
People are a lot like wildflowers. Sometimes life hits hard, like a killing frost, or a winter storm. The cold, harsh wind drives all thoughts of warm, beautiful flowers from our minds. In the midst of such a storm, we wonder if we will ever be warm again, ever bask in the glow of the sun again, or ever smell the fragrant odor of a flower again. Due to these storms of life, we can become bitter like the biting wind, closed off from the people who love us.
These storms may come from the trauma in our lives. Sometimes it is a singular event, physical or sexual abuse as a child, or the ambush of a combat patrol. Sometimes it is the culmination of trauma upon trauma, pushing our humanity to the ground. We lose our innocence, we lose our sense of self, we mourn the senseless loss of our comrades in arms. We withdraw, like the wildflower withering beneath the frost and like a seed buried beneath the snow on the darkest night of winter, we wonder if life will ever be bright and worthwhile again.
It can be. God’s love can shine through like the warm summer sun. Sometimes, we need more than just the sun, we need a little help. Like the rain is needed to rouse the seed from its slumber, we need to be shown the way, we need a little rain to go with the sun. That is where followers of Christ come in. You see, many of us have seen the darkness of winter, a life without any wildflowers bringing wonder. Yet, we have found our way back again. Through the love of God shining through those who love us, we see that life can be worthwhile again. That life can be warm and beautiful.
How are the wildflowers in your life? Are they radiant and lovely? Or are they slumbering beneath the frozen ground? Peace Mountain Ranch is here for Veterans and those who have seen trauma, to be a place where God’s love can shine brightly upon the soil of your soul. A place where the frost in your heart can be melted. A place where the seeds of beauty, of worth, of purpose can be woken from their slumber and nurtured once again. A place where peace and healing can be found. If you are a Veteran still feeling the icy cold gales of the storm, consider coming to Peace Mountain Ranch and feeling the peace of the Holy Spirit, a peace that passes all understanding. If you are still fighting a dry, arid darkness in your soul, consider coming to Peace Mountain Ranch and finding the light of God’s true love. There is a place for you where the wildflowers grow.
